Tom Kierey is the only German to win more than one paracanoe world title. His first success at the world championships came in the K1M 200m LTA on home waters in Duisburg, and at the time made him the youngest paracanoe world champion at the age of 18 years and 360 days old. He was unable to defend his title the following year in Moscow, Russian Federation, finishing fourth behind Ukraine’s Yuriy Kikhayev, Romania’s Iulian Serban and home paddler Leonid Krylov. In 2015 he returned to the top step of the podium, winning the KL3M 200m world title in Milan, Italy, a discipline he won again in 2016 in Duisburg, crossing the line just 0.044 seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Serhii Yemelianov.

Kierey was born in Dresden with an impairment to his right leg and took up canoeing in 1999. He is a member of KC Borussia Berlin and is coached by Jurgen Hausmann. Named as 2013 Elite Student of the Year in Germany, Kierey describes the three most important things in his life as his family, his sport, and his future. He believes paracanoe is special because, “it is a sport for everyone, and no matter what kind of disability you have, in paracanoe there is always a solution”.

Kierey’s next aim is the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, when paracanoe makes its debut at the Games.